Rye Medical Centre
Hastings & Rother PCT
6 GP Practice / Minor Surgery Suite / Nurse Treatment Rooms / Dispensary
850 sq m
Development value: £2 million
Commenced on-site: December 2006
Completed: October 2007
GPI Project Director: William Sheardown, Director for the South East
Architectural Design: Weston Architects Limited
Construction: Farnrise Construction Limited
Employer's Agent and Planning Supervisor: Chawton Hill Associates
As our clients are at the heart of our vision, we at GPI appreciate that every client is unique with specific needs. We work hard to ensure we understand their challenges and requirements, enabling us to offer genuinely tailored solutions.
This core approach underpinned the work undertaken with the former Postern Gate Surgery and East Sussex PCT to ensure that Rye Medical Centre met all expectations.
Situated in the grounds of Rye Memorial Care Centre, it replaced the cramped former surgery and serves 7,000 patients in Rye and the surrounding villages.
We were one of several specialist developers contacted directly by the Practice to propose our vision of how a new development scheme could be delivered. GPI’s reputation of experience and excellent quality was cited as a key factor in our selection.
The brief was to secure a suitable site on which to develop a modern primary care centre which could offer the high standards of care the local community deserves.
The previous surgery was hampering the ability to provide excellent service and patient comfort. This was due to a variety of factors, including a lack of space, thin walls hindering patient confidentiality and accessibility issues.
As Practice Manager Nigel Lang points out: “In the old surgery we would often have to hunt around for a room to accommodate patients as space was so short”.
It was also essential to be aware of the concern in Rye over relocating from the town centre to beyond the town boundary at the top of Rye Hill.
Of particular importance was integration of the aspirations of both the PCT and the Practice to allow new and a greater volume of services to cater for the growing local population.
Upon appointment, we conducted extensive research in order to ascertain whether the preferred site was indeed the most appropriate site possible. This thorough investigation into other alternatives provided much reassurance, and this sequential approach to site selection factors in both current and potential future requirements.
GPI also actively assisted the Practice in obtaining consent for change of use on the existing building, enabling them to release their equity.
We introduced them to a purchaser and co-ordinated a linked deal, so as to allow the Practice to exchange on the sale of their existing building when they signed up to the new building, with completion on the existing building delayed until completion of the new building.
With regards to the construction of the building itself, we undertook detailed consultation not only with the Practice but also with the PCT concerning the layout, size of rooms and the right types of rooms for the services, considering all aspects of maximising usage.
We worked very closely with the planners and maintained a keen interest, particularly given the local interest. We were thus very keen to provide a sympathetic design and are delighted that the resulting building is congruous with the surrounding area and environment. Furthermore, we also conducted an archaeological survey on the site.
GPI is committed to supporting and collaborating with clients and so we offered assistance to the PCT with public consultation, engaging ourselves in key issues such as putting traffic calming measures in the vicinity.
Rye Medical Centre formally opened its doors at the end of October 2007, offering a wide range of services including a full treatment suite for minor surgery, nurse treatment rooms and dispensary. Patients have also benefited from improved waiting facilities and accessibility, both in terms of onsite parking and access to the building itself, and also once inside the building.
GPI, East Sussex PCT, the Practice and patients have all been delighted with the results, which have transformed medical service provision in Rye:
“It has brought us into the 21st century giving us the ability to expand and do a great deal better. It has been a pleasure working with GPI. Everything has gone remarkably smoothly and we are overjoyed with the result." Nigel Lang, Practice Manager